Wong 1

Kyle Wong
Miss Doyle
English 10 H
September 7, 2015
PEAC Paragraph: Mixed Media
Pieter Brueghel the Elders painting, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus,
depicts the fall of Icarus as insignificant, illustrating his belief that humans
tend to ignore the suffering of others, while Lord Byrons poem,
Prometheus, which describes Prometheus suffering and contrasts it with
his inner strength, shows Byrons opinion that even the most brutal
hardships can be overcome by having a strong inner will. Brueghels
message is made clear by the way he illustrates Icarus in his painting. The
painting does not focus on Icarus, and in fact, Icarus is near the bottom of
the painting, hardly noticeable without a second glance. The sole fact that
Icarus fall is not the main focus of the painting clearly shows how
insignificant his fall was. Nobody seems to notice or care about Icarus fall to
death. In fact, in the poem Muse des Beaux Arts, Wystan Hugh Auden
observes that in Brueghels painting, everything turns away from the fall of
Icarus (14). In the poem Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, William Carlos
Williams also perceives the insignificance of Icarus fall. His observation that
unsignificantly / there [is] / a splash quite unnoticed illustrates the fact
that the painting portrays Icarus fall as insignificant (13-16). The portrayal of
the ignorance of Icarus fall to death illustrates Brueghels opinion on what

Wong 2
he thinks is a flaw in humans: that they dont care about each others
suffering. Byron, on the other hand, focuses more on suffering. His poem
describes Prometheus sufferings of mortality (2) and Prometheus
suffocating sense of woe (10). Through these descriptions, Byron has fully
described how brutal Prometheus suffering is. However, Byron then goes on
to juxtapose this suffering by contrasting it with words like [t]riumph[] (58)
and [v]ictory (59). He ties these two opposites by describing Prometheus
firm will, deep sense, (55) and impenetrable Spirit (42). Byron uses this
to show that even the worst suffering and hardships can be endured with a
strong inner will. In fact, Byron goes so far as to say that even while suffering
through the worst hardships, having tough spirit can result in victory.
Through his description of the gradual transformation from woe to victory,
Byron has fully illustrated his belief that an iron will can take a person
through hardships and misfortunes. Through their unique depictions of Greek
myths, Brueghel and Byron have both revealed their opinions, with Brueghel
exposing his belief that humans show indifference towards others suffering,
and Byron expressing his opinion that an iron will and a hardened spirit is all
that is needed to make it through hardships.